This invention relates to a road buoy which is used as a warning or traffic control marker primarily in those areas where road construction or repair is taking place. The road buoys serve to guide the traffic around the construction site, and also provide a barrier between the traffic and the construction crews.
Empty steel barrels or oil drums, sometimes striped alternately with orange and white paint, are the most common of such prior road markers. Although they are widely used, these prior road buoys have several serious drawbacks. In order to be sufficiently visible to the motorist, these steel barrels must be of considerable size. In addition, a great number must be used around large-scale road construction or repair sites. Consequently, because of the size of each barrel and the number needed, they require a very great amount of storage space when not in use. Furthermore, for the same reasons, transportation of the barrels is also a major problem. Cargo space on trucks is necessarily limited, and therefore, because of the amount of space occupied by only a few of these barrels, transportation to the job location of any number at all requires many trucks or many trips by a few vehicles. In either case, the transportation cost is considerable. As these barrels are traditionally made of a relatively heavy gauge steel, they are quite heavy, which further complicates transportation and handling.
More importantly, however, the substantial weight of these markers creates a serious safety hazard. These markers are often struck by passing vehicles and can cause severe damage to the cars themselves. Furthermore, they also present a danger to the construction crew since these heavy barrels may be knocked into the crew when hit. Also, these heavy road markers can create a major traffic hazard since they can roll when tipped and could roll into a lane of fast moving traffic.
Finally, these prior markers have not been specifically designed for use as road markers. Accordingly, they have no provision for holding a flashing warning light for use in the dark unless such means are added at considerable expense. Therefore, these prior markers are generally difficult to see at night on a section of road which is not independently lighted, thereby presenting yet another safety hazard. Further, once these prior markers have been damaged so that they cannot stand upright, they cannot be repaired but must be entirely replaced.
Although they present storage, transportation and safety problems, these barrel markers are popular and widely used today.